


Still or again?

by jane_dorne



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, First Time, I'm Sorry, M/M, Open to Interpretation, This Is Sad, don't hate me, no comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26834929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_dorne/pseuds/jane_dorne
Summary: Ten years after the King's Men, Neil wakes up in Millport.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	Still or again?

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic in less than half an hour while sic so don't expect too much from it but I actually quite like the result. For once it ended up being exactly what I had in mind so that's a nice change.  
> Enjoy!

Neil woke up with a start. His breath hitched when he didn’t recognise the room he was in. A white ceiling with water stains, dirty with walls, cheap wooden floors and not a hint of furniture. Neil was lying on the ground, wrapped in an old sleeping bag that looked oddly familiar. There was some light trickling inside and playing with dust in the air from the window but that was covered in cardbox. His breath came in rugged short puffs, panic rising inside of him.

The last thing Neil could remember was going to sleep next to Andrew in their shared apartment in Boston. Had he been kidnapped? Had his father’s men finally caught up to him after all these years? It didn’t make sense. Why would they come for him now, almost ten years after his father’s death and the FBI’s mass arrests? But then again these people had always been deranged. Neil was more surprised by the fact a quick tour of his body came back clean. As a professional athlete he was used to making rapid assessments of his health and cataloguing everything that hurt. But nothing did apart from a small discomfort from sleeping on the floor. Now that he thought about it even the familiar aches from old injuries and years of playing a violent sport were gone. That was suspicious. If he had been kidnapped he should be at least a mildly injured and certainly not in better shape than he had been in years.

Something occurred to Neil and he looked sharply down at his arms. His bare arms. Not a mark to be seen. Neil felt dizzy, like the ground had just been ripped from under his feet. His scars were gone. Panic rising once more he patted under his shirt but his old scars were still there. Most of them anyway. Some were missing. The ones from his time with Riko in Evermore. How was this possible?

Looking around some more Neil spotted his old duffel bag on the floor close to him.

Neil didn’t know how long it was until he was able to think clearly again.

Eventually, he stood up and walked to the door. It was unlocked. And sure enough, he was in the house he had squatted in back in Millport. Almost a decade ago. A trip to the bathroom informed him that he was somehow back in his eighteen year old self’s body.

Neil went down the stairs in a daze, convinced he had to be dreaming. He walked outside until he found a newspaper on one of his neighbours’ front lawn. The light spring breeze ruffled the pages as he unfolded the paper and read the date. 7th April, 2003.

Neil wracked his brain to remember exactly why that date seemed important. But then he remembered. He had an exy game that evening. Wymack would be there. This was the day he was recruited to the Foxes. The day he had met Andrew.

Andrew. Would he even know Neil? No. Neil couldn’t think about this right now or he wouldn’t be able to do anything properly. He had to play that game. Everything had to happen just like it had the first time around. Neil couldn’t risk his future, his family.

*****

Neil gave everything he had into the game but he wasn’t as good as he would be in a few years and they lost the game. That was expected. The Millport Dingo’s had lost the first time too. That was okay.

Neil climbed up into the bleachers to smoke and wait. No one paid him any mind since his team mates were used to him waiting until everyone was gone to enter the locker room.

As expected Coach Hernandez came over to ask why his parents hadn’t come to the game. Neil evaded by saying they were out of town. Again or still, who cared? Then his coach informed him there was someone here to see him.

David Wymack came out looking younger than Neil remembered. He had fewer gray hair and wrinkles caused by the kids he cared so much about even though they made him so infinitely sad. He wasn’t as weighed down by their tragic pasts as he had been the last time Neil had seen him.

Seeing his old coach was comforting. Wymack had given him a family and Neil was very fond of him despite his waryness of him when he’d first met him. His gruff nature just reminded Neil of his time playing the game he loved with the people he cared most about. Neil didn’t bother listening to him though. He just ran.

Neil slowed down when he reached the locker room door and took a deep breath before opening it. Andrew stood there, manic smile in place and grinned at him dangerously.

“Andrew,” Neil sighed in relief.

Andrew’s face showed no signs of recognition and his face scrunched up infinitesimally in the way Neil knew meant confusion.

“Who the fuck are you?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, don't yell at me. (In case it wasn't clear, no Andrew does not remember Neil at all because the Junky(TM) is the only one who travelled back in time)  
> This is sad I know. I got this idea from a fic I read last week and I was convinced that Andrew wouldn't remember Neil (he did actually) so I was disapointed the ending wasn't sad and I thought I should write something where he doesn't because it would absolutely break my heart to read something like that and I could absolutely not handle it.  
> And I wrote this today because I'm sick and miserable and I wanted you guys to be as miserable as me.  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
